The ART of Summit Transportation

By Art Hoffmann| Senior Member

In my previous article, I covered the dining and entertainment offerings within the Disneyland sphere of influence. There is much more food and fun outside that sphere, but walking to it all could be daunting. Fortunately, there is a user-friendly option to shoe leather in the form of a streetcar system called ART, or Anaheim Resort Transportation. OK, yes, they are shuttle buses, not iconic streetcars like in the old Rice-A-Roni commercials. You won’t have to yell “Stella! ” to catch one because two lines stop near the Marriott hotel hosting the 2016 STC Summit.

With the ART, convenience is high and cost is low. A one-day pass is $5, with a reduced price of $2 for senior and disabled passengers. Multiday passes are available to take you around the resort area and a few more distant destinations for 3, 5, and 15 days. The 3- and 5-day passes save $1 per day. A one-way fare is also available. Check the rates and routes on the rideart.org website. Several kiosks for purchasing ART passes are located around the Summit hotel and convention complex.

The ART is mobile friendly, too. No, they don’t offer WiFi on the shuttles, but you can find out when the next shuttle arrives using your phone. Just text the stop number to 41411 for an ETA.

So where can you go on the ART? For shopping and dining, the ART will take you to the Garden Walk mall just east of the Summit venue, the Outlets at Orange a bit farther out, and South Coast Plaza—one of the premier malls in Orange County. Each of these destinations offers a wide range of dining choices. For a hipster experience, the ART can zip you over to the Anaheim Packing District with its multiple offerings of food, drink, and live entertainment.

If you are going to the Angels-Dodgers game, hop on the ART for a ride to Angel Stadium. The ART can also take you to the Honda Center, home of the Anaheim Ducks. The Honda Center is also a popular concert venue along with the nearby Grove of Anaheim. Check their schedules for performances you might want to see during your visit.

Ride the ART to Angel’s Stadium (source: visitanaheim.org)

For those wanting to see more of Southern California during an extended stay, use the ART to access the ARTIC, or Anaheim Regional Intermodal Transportation Center (I know, it should be ARITC, but they didn’t ask me). From there, board a Metrolink or Amtrak train to Los Angeles Union Station or sunny San Clemente beach.

Once at Union Station, the Red Line subway and other light rail systems will take you to many points of interest around Los Angeles. My favorite is taking the Red Line to Pershing Square station so I can go to the Grand Central Market. The market has been there for 100 years and offers a multitude of wonderful food outlets. Think the Los Angeles equivalent to Faneuil Hall in Boston. Across from one entrance is the historic Angels Flight funicular rail line. Across from the other entrance is the famous Bradbury building shown in many Hollywood movies. Feel free to walk in during regular business hours and picture yourself in Blade Runner.

Here are some links to ART destinations:

And some links to transportation information:

The Technical Communication Summit is being held 15–18 May 2016.

ART HOFFMANN lives a few miles from Disneyland and the Anaheim Resort district. Art is the current secretary of the Orange County STC Chapter, one of the Summit’s local hosts.